Biggest Mistakes People Make When Building A Home

Perhaps you’ve been dreaming of building a home for years, but you’re scared the process won’t be worth it. After all, we’ve all heard those horror stories about a bad home building experience. It’s no secret that building a home is going to take a lot of money, time and energy. The last thing you want to do is wake up in a home that you don’t love. At Hearthside Homes, we strive to make the home building experience fun and simple! Since 1987, we’ve been building beautiful, functional and long-lasting homes for families in the Kansas City, Kearney, Liberty, Parkville and surrounding areas. We’re happy that you’ve landed on our blog and we hope that this post sheds some light on the most common home building mistakes!

Picking An Unreliable Or Unorganized Builder

One of the biggest mistakes people make when building a home is not choosing the right builder. This goes beyond picking a builder based on a home that you toured. Sure, it’s important that you love their work, but it is just as crucial that you pick a team that you can trust. You don’t want to lay awake at night worried that the job won’t be done right! After all, this will likely be a long-term relationship. Not only will you be working with the builder for several months while the house is being built, you’ll also have to depend on them for any warranty related issues that could arise long after you’ve moved in. 

Your builder should have experience, a portfolio, testimonials, insurance and an accurate timeline. Many builders will take well over a year to build your home simply because they lack organizational skills. Trust us, there are so many moving parts to building a home! Not only will the builder have to keep track of all of your material selections and floor plan modifications, they will have to clearly communicate those to all of the contractors. When an inevitable hiccup or delay occurs, it changes the rhythm of the sequence of events to come. A builder needs to be ready to adjust and get back on track quickly. 

Did you know that building with Hearthside Homes only takes SIX months?! 

Not Building In The Right Location

Picking the wrong location is a HUGE mistake that people often make when building a home. It’s important that you consider school districts, future developments and the average resale value in the area. You definitely don’t want to build a home that’s too expensive for the area it’s in. 

At Hearthside Homes, we only build in neighborhoods that we are confident will be a great long-term option for our clients. When you build a home with us, you’re more than just another number in our queue. We care about your family! Our communities are in up and coming areas and are located in some of the best school districts in the area! Click here to learn more about our communities.

Choosing A Bad Floor Plan 

It doesn’t matter how expensive or luxurious the house is, a bad floor plan can be a logistical nightmare. Is the laundry room two flights of stairs from the bedrooms? Do doors not open all the way? Maybe there’s an awkwardly skinny hallway or weird window placement. Floor plans matter! No matter how good it may seem on paper, you won’t really know the full outcome until you see it in person. Often times, changes that may seem small during construction can cost thousands! It’s important that you know the ins and outs of your floor plan. After all, you want the space to be beautiful, functional and long-lasting! 

At Hearthside Homes, we have narrowed down several floor plans for our clients to choose from. We do this because we’ve built these layouts time and time again and we know that they work! So no, we won’t build any blueprint that comes our way, but we will allow you to make all the material selections to your unique tastes! Click here to view some of our floor plan options.

Material Selections That Are Bad For Resale 

It’s no secret that life throws you a few curveballs every now and then. Even if you believe you’re building your forever home, there’s a chance that you’ll have to sell it in the future. Choosing the right material selections is a big decision! You don’t want the house to have too unique or trendy elements that will quickly become outdated in a few years. Likewise, it’s important that you don’t invest too much so that you’ll never make your money back. For example, high-end backsplashes and custom crown molding might not yield a good long-term return on investment. A good builder is ready to help you make these reasonable decisions! 

Not Making Timely Decisions 

Alright – sometimes it’s not the builder that causes delays. Often times an indecisive homeowner can be the culprit of a drawn out home building experience. Before you hire a builder, it’s important that you know what YOU want! What’s your style and what are your must-have items? A great thing to do is to create a Pinterest board for your builder. When it comes time to make design choices and material selections, you’ll be able to review the inspirational photos together.

At Hearthside Homes, we work with leading experts in the interior design industry. We want you to leave each meeting feeling confident in your choices! Click here to learn more about the process.

Buying More Than You Can Afford

A gorgeous home with no furniture or cable isn’t really ideal is it? The last thing you want to do is build a home that you can’t afford. Being “house poor” is one of the fastest ways you can put yourself in financial distress. Understandably this can even cause marital issues. When building a home, don’t let a builder talk you into upgrades you can’t afford! 

Avoiding These Common Home Building Mistakes 

Do you want to avoid these common home building mistakes? The key to having a headache-free home building experience is to hire a builder that you can trust! Be sure to do your research before signing the dotted line. Look up reviews and watch their testimonial videos. Make sure you know exactly what you’re going to get before you sign on with a builder. Many builders will showcase high-end finishing and upgrades in their model homes. You need to understand what’s included from the start! 

A Kansas City Home Builder You Can Trust! 

At Hearthside Homes, we strive to make the home building process as simple and easy as possible! Since 1987, we’ve been building homes for residents in the Kansas City, Kearney, Liberty, Parkville and surrounding areas. Over the last few decades, we’ve been able to dial-in the home building experience for our customers. When you build with Heathside Homes, you’ll start by picking a floor plan that you love and then one of our experts will help you make your material selections. From flooring to paint, cabinetry, appliances and beyond, our team is ready and excited to help you throughout the home building process! On average our homes can be move-in ready in just six months! Click here to learn all about our simple home building process!

The prices of our homes range from 275k – 500k. We would love to show you how you can maximize your budget! Click here to request to be contacted by one of our team members. You can also visit us at our showroom located at 1915 Industrial Dr #300, Liberty, MO 64068. Feel free to swing by when you’re in the area or schedule a private tour by clicking here. 

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